Tempeh Bacon

Here's the thing about tempeh bacon: it's tempeh.  Not bacon.


Nevertheless, the maple syrup makes for a crispy-caramelly thing, and the overall combo tastes remarkably like BBQ Pringles.  Very tasty.  To the right, you will see some of this tempeh on zatar-pesto whole-wheat spaghetti with kale, avocado, and lemon.  (Mix zatar with olive oil and garlic, then mix into pasta).

In adapting this recipe, I reduced the amount of liquid smoke, increased the cayenne, added garlic powder, and then adjusted the amounts so that the recipe would be for a whole block of tempeh.

Tempeh Bacon

(adapted from Healthy Happy Life)

Ingredients

8 oz tempeh

2.5 TB maple syrup

1.5 TB olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 TB soy sauce

for pan: vegetable oil

Instructions

Combine marinade ingredients.  Very thinly slice the tempeh and place in a shallow bowl (I used a pyrex bowl with a lid so that I could easily shake the tempeh a few times for even coverage).  Pour marinade over tempeh (it will seem like not enough for the amount of tempeh) and let sit 10 minutes or so--move the tempeh around so that it all gets exposed to the marinade.
Heat vegetable oil in cast iron skillet.  Saute tempeh on one side for a few minutes, then flip.  Cook until
both sides are crisp and browned.  Makes 3 servings.